McConnell Foundation - Funding Opportunities

Who is eligible?

• Canadian charities
• Non-profit organizations
• Municipalities
• Other types of organizations may also be supported

Who is not eligible

• For-profit organizations, except in rare & specific situations.
• Private schools.

Eligible expenses

• Project-related salaries and staffing costs
• Administration and overhead attributed to the project
• Organizational strengthening and leadership development costs
• Project-specific training and evaluation costs

Ineligible Costs and Activities

• General fundraising campaigns and funding your team to engage in fundraising.
• Reducing a capital or operating deficit, contributing to an endowment, university or hospital endowments, and annual operating funds or other recurring costs unless directly linked to one of the focus areas and the success of the proposed project.
• Partisan political activities, strictly religious purposes or activities, and purely academic research or basic research, including academic research that would otherwise be funded by Canada’s Tri-Council or related to post-secondary studies.
• Conference or event sponsorship that is not related to the focus areas and/or does not support the participation of equity-deserving and/or under-represented groups.
• The purchase of building and/or construction materials, except for the Montreal strategy; projects outside Canada; international development initiatives; projects advancing nature-based solutions such as reforestation, tree planting, nature conservation or biodiversity preservation; and organizational emergency needs.

• Strategic alignment with the chosen focus area
• Potential to create significant, lasting change
• For some streams, proposals are reviewed through a two-stage process before detailed assessment

• All proposals must be submitted on the online portal.
• Register using the online portal, Fluxx, or log in if you already have an account.
• Upon signing up for the first time, complete the short eligibility quiz.
• Complete the short-form application, including organizational information, short-form application questions, and key budget numbers.
• If selected, you will be contacted to complete the detailed application, including detailed application questions, focus area questions, and the full budget.

• Reports are an opportunity for the grantee to share how their work is progressing and for the Foundation to offer feedback and insights.
• Narrative reports should be no more than 5 pages in length.
• Along with the narrative report, a financial statement that outlines how the grant has been spent to date and an overview of other financial contributions to the project is expected.
• Any contingent payment installments of the grant will not be made until both documents have been received and reviewed by the Foundation.
• Typically, partners submit a short progress report annually, and this triggers the next installment of their funding.

• The Communities application portal is currently closed, and updates about reopening will be announced in 2027.
• The Montreal Strategy has been sunset and the funding portal will not reopen.
• The Sector Building stream is currently proactive in nature only and cannot be applied for.
• Virtual office hours are available to help determine whether a project fits a focus area, and they are not a mandatory step in submitting an application.